(AP) — The holiday season kicked off Thursday with massive helium balloons floating through New York on Thanksgiving Day. Parade-goers who braved chilly temperatures were treated to new balloons depicting Buzz Lightyear, Nintendo’s Mario, and Pac-Man.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade went off without any major disasters on Thursday, but one performer on the NBC broadcast did raise some eyebrows.
Shaggy performed on one of the floats at one point, and the singer opted to include his smash hit “It Wasn’t Me” in his setlist.
While it was a clean version of the track, the song’s subject matter — a man’s partner catching him having sex with another woman — didn’t seem to appropriate for a parade that also included Sesame Street characters and a giant Snoopy balloon.
Here are some of the reactions that rolled in on X as Shaggy took over the NBC broadcast:
- “I’m so serious nobody wants to hear Shaggy ‘wasn’t me’ singing about getting caught cheating..Imagine having to explain the lyrics to a child who keeps picking it up and singing it nonstop.” (source)
- “Uh… Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me” is not exactly family friendly material. Hope the kids aren’t listening too closely.” (source)
- “Something truly glorious about Shaggy singing “It Wasn’t Me” to the elementary schoolers at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2025.” (source)
- “Shaggy singing ‘it wasn’t me’ in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is a choice. I’m not saying it’s a bad choice, but it is a choice.” (source)
- “LMAO why were Shaggy and Rayvon singing It Wasn’t Me at the THANKSGIVING PARADE??!” (source)
- “I’m no prude, but Shaggy singing It Wasn’t Me probably not right for the Thanksgiving parade.” (source)
- “Thanksgiving Parade just went from Mickey Mouse to Shaggy out there singing It Wasn’t Me. Girl what? L O L” (source)
- “I’m not sure if Shaggy singing Wasn’t Me is the most appropriate song for the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade” (source)
However, lots of Gen-Xers and milliennals were just bewildered and amazed to see Shaggy on a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade float.
As one person wrote, “Shaggy performing ‘It Wasn’t Me’ aboard a giant turkey float is precisely the Thanksgiving morning of my dreams.”